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VELA PRESS

 

VELA WEBSITE 55 W 21 St, btw 5 & 6 Ave BACK TO SATURDAYS AT VELA / MENU PRESS NEW YORK POST PAGE SIX, MARCH 25, 2004 NIGHTLIFE NOTES VELA, a 150-seat Japanese restaurant/lounge, opens next month at 55 W. 21st St. with the cuisine of Yasuhiro Inoue, who just left Matsuri. It's the brainchild of David Sarner (Rehab, Spy Bar and Chaos), Mike Diamond (Dorsia and Pangea), and Tannaz Bagherzadeh, a Persian socialite who modeled in Brazil. NEW YORK POST THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2004 WE HEAR . . . THAT party planner Jon Gabel will unveil a new invention in his first restaurant, Vela on West 21st Street - hydraulic tables that convert from 30-inch dining tables to 22-inch cocktail tables at the touch of a button. Gabel was inspired by a design for disabled diners needing wheelchair access. NEW YORK POST MAY 15, 2004 Night Club Of The Week IT TAKES A VELA By BRIAN NIEMIETZ SINCE opening in early April, Vela has become the lounge du jour for stylish civilians and a diverse array of celebs including Macy Gray, Naomi Campbell, the band Live and the reigning Miss USA, Shandi Finnessey. Curious foodies and the sceniest of scenesters trickle past the entrance's mini-waterfall, greeting one another with pecks on the cheek. Intimate without feeling claustrophobic, the 100-seat supper club/lounge goes hi-tech to makes a seamless transition from dinner hour to cocktail time - Vela's hydraulic-powered tables sit chest-high while dinner is being served and later drop to knee-level exposing the assets of leggy models who pack the place for parties. "It has this kind of exotic Japanese thing going on," notes a 6-foot blonde clubgoer named Christina. The carefully planned decor runs from artsy metallic partitions to bamboo-covered pillars and exotic plants that provide an illusion of privacy and space. After 11, DJs come out to play a mix of "happy house and light hip-hop" as co-owner David Sarner describes it. Cover charge: None. Cocktail Watch: A Bombay Sapphire Martini is $14, as is the signature Velatini (Grey Goose, sake, muddled cilantro and cucumber).   Getting in: To avoid a bottle service charge, book a late dinner reservation and linger at your table or arrive at the end of dinnertime and loiter at the bar. As at most clubs, you'll have an easier time getting in by keeping your group's male-female ratio even. TOP